When dropping or lowering cargo in any gravity actuated device, there is always the possibility of the load being accelerated to the point of damaging the load upon ground impact.
Frictional brakes for use with rope, or the like, have been developed to aid the rope handler in lowering a heavy object. However the prior art frictional rope brakes fail to provide an adjustable, or controlled, rate of descent for a load of a predetermined weight. In addition, prior art frictional rope brakes also fail to disengage from the cargo once the cargo has contacted its drop zone.
Therefore, in light of the above, there is a need for a frictional rope brake that is adjustable to control the rate of descent for a given cargo weight and disengage from the cargo once the cargo has contacted its drop zone.